Home › Island News › Local News
Panther killed on Collier Boulevard north of Marco Island
STORY TOOLS
Tell us about it
- What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
- Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
- Upload photos & videos
- More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.
RELATED STORIES
- Dead panther found in refuge makes 12 deaths this year
- New cutting-edge plan for panther protection to get unveiled Monday
- Dead panther found in Big Cypress National Preserve
- Another dead panther found in Collier
- Panther killed on Pine Ridge Road is first ’08 fatality
More Local News
- Collier County manager: Voluntary separations needed as revenues drop
- Ambulance driver at fault in accident with Sheriff’s Office
- Christmas Island Style Gala to celebrate Marco’s top community contributors
Share and Enjoy [?]
A driver killed an endangered Florida panther last night on Collier Boulevard between the Prime Outlets shopping center and the Silver Lakes Resort and Golf Club, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported this morning.
The female panther, estimated at 2 to 3 years old, is the ninth documented panther death and the fourth panther roadkill in 2008. The Conservation Commission recovered the dead panther at about 9:30 p.m.
The panther was moving from east to west across Collier Boulevard toward the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, according to the report.
It is possible that the panther had been unknown to researchers because it didn’t have a radio collar used to track panthers and didn’t have a transponder chip used to store information such as its birth site and mother, assistant research scientist Dave Onorato said this morning.
Onorato said motorists should use caution in the areas along U.S. 41 and Collier Boulevard, where trackers are noting an increase in panther activity as the cats expand their range.
The carcass will be sent to the Conservation Commission wildlife research lab in Gainesville for a necropsy, and the hide and bones will be archived at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below — responsibility lies with the relevant reader alone. Read our privacy policy & user agreement.
I'm sorry but 2 or 3 year olds should not be crossing Collier Blvd. at night by themselves.
#1 Posted by hourigan82247 on May 23, 2008 at 2:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Post your comment
(Requires free registration.)